A method of manufacturing a perpendicular magnetic head having a writing element that writes magnetic information to a recording medium includes forming a main magnetic pole part generating a magnetic field on a substrate; removing at least a part of the substrate and a material existing at a circumference of the main magnetic pole part to expose an entire circumference of the main magnetic pole part at a surface that becomes an opposing medium surface (ABS) opposite to the recording medium; forming a shield gap film that is made of a nonmagnetic material so as to cover the entire circumference of the main magnetic pole part at least at the surface that becomes the ABS; and forming a shield layer so as to cover an entire circumference of the shield gap film at least at the surface that becomes the ABS.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method of manufacturing a perpendicular magnetic head having a writing element that writes magnetic information to a recording medium, comprising: a first step for forming a main magnetic pole part generating a magnetic field on a substrate; a second step for removing at least a part of the substrate and a material existing at a circumference of the main magnetic pole part so as to expose an entire circumference of the main magnetic pole part at a surface that becomes an opposing medium surface (ABS) opposite to the recording medium; a third step for forming a shield gap film that is made of a nonmagnetic material so as to cover the entire circumference of the main magnetic pole part at least at the surface that becomes the ABS; and a fourth step for forming a shield layer so as to cover an entire circumference of the shield gap film at least at the surface that becomes the ABS.
2. The method of manufacturing a perpendicular magnetic head according to claim 1 , wherein in the first step, the main magnetic pole part is formed on a nonmagnetic film after the nonmagnetic film is formed on the substrate so as to adjust a shape of the main magnetic pole part, and in the second step, at least a part of the substrate and a part of the nonmagnetic film are removed so as to expose the entire circumference of the main magnetic pole part at the surface that becomes the ABS.
3. The method of manufacturing a perpendicular magnetic head according to claim 2 , wherein in the first step, a resist having an opening part with a certain shape is formed on the substrate, the nonmagnetic film is formed on the exposed surface of the substrate at the opening part and on side walls of the resist forming the opening part, and the resist is removed after the main magnetic pole part is formed on the nonmagnetic film.
4. The method of manufacturing a perpendicular magnetic head according to claim 2 , wherein in the first step, a hole part with a certain shape is formed in the substrate, the nonmagnetic film is formed at a surface of the hole part so as to adjust the shape of the main magnetic pole part, and the main magnetic pole part is formed on the nonmagnetic film located at the surface of the hole part.
5. The method of manufacturing a perpendicular magnetic head according to claim 1 , wherein in the third step, the shield gap film covers the entire circumference of the main magnetic pole part with a substantially uniform thickness at the surface that becomes the ABS.
6. The method of manufacturing a perpendicular magnetic head according to claim 1 , further comprising a step for polishing the surface that becomes the ABS after the third step.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
November 10, 2009
October 9, 2012
Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.